High-dose pilot study with the novel progestogen dienogestin patients with endometriosis

Abstract

High-dose dienogest (20 mg/day) was used for the treatment of endometriosis in women aged 18–52 years after laparoscopic and histological diagnosis of endometriosis and staging according to the revised American Fertility Society criteria. Treatment efficacy was analyzed objectively by second-look laparoscopy, and serum hormone measurements and evaluation of endometriosis-related symptoms were performed done and side-effects recorded. Compared with other high-dose progestin therapies, treatment with dienogest was shown to be effective even in stage IV endometriosis. The side-effect profile of the high-dose dienogest treatment appears to be highly favorable compared with other treatments. Neither the menopausal symptoms caused by therapy with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists nor the adverse androgen-related effects induced by danazol were observed. Therefore, long-term high-dose dienogest therapy can be recommended particularly for women with progressive endometriosis.

Keywords:

• Endometriosis
• dienogest